French withdrawal
France has experienced similar setbacks in several West African countries in recent years, including Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso, where long-standing French troops were forced out.
Several West African countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where the coup occurred, recently asked France to withdraw. These include Senegal and Chad, which are recently considered France’s most stable and loyal partners in Africa.
The reduction in military ties comes as France devises a new military strategy that drastically reduces its permanent military presence in Africa and seeks to revive its waning political and military influence on the continent. It was held in the midst of
France is now expelled from more than 70% of African countries where it has had troops stationed since it ended its colonial rule.
The French army was left with only 1,500 soldiers in Djibouti and 350 in Gabon.
Analysts described the development as part of a broader structural shift in the region’s engagement with Paris, as local anti-French sentiment grows, particularly in coup-hit countries.
